


More Than Just a Tree

by TalesOfTheFox



Series: Draecember 2020 [1]
Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Draecember, Female Friendship, Ficlet, Gen, Gift Giving, Holidays, The Feast of Winter Veil, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:21:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28124529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalesOfTheFox/pseuds/TalesOfTheFox
Summary: A child of the Exodar struggles to understand the existence of indoor trees.
Series: Draecember 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2060412
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	More Than Just a Tree

**Author's Note:**

> My first entry for Draecember 2020! This fic combines the prompts "First Winter Veil", "Friends", and "Presents".

“What. Is. That.”  
  
Andorra tilted her head back to stare at the massive green conical…  _ thing _ dominating a section of Ironforge’s great hall. She was absolutely certain it had not been there when last she had passed through the city in the mountains.  
  
“It’s a tree. You’ve seen trees before,” Finawen replied.  
  
“I do not believe you. That is far too big to be a tree.”  
  
“You--- Andorra, we met in Darnassus! That is  _ not _ a big tree.” Her druid companion, still in her bear form, lacked the features necessary for smiling, but her mirth was clearly audible.  
  
“It’s the wrong shape. Besides, it’s  _ indoors _ .” Andorra continued to eye the object warily as she cringed at the petulant whine in her voice. She felt agitated and skittish, and keenly aware of how much she stood out among the mostly-dwarven crowd; it was hard to ignore the stares and the whispered conversations that followed when people noticed her horns.  
  
The air around the bear shimmered, and Finawen stood before her again in her kaldorei shape. Her smile was kinder now, her amber eyes softer as she began to recognize that Andorra’s skittishness wasn’t really about the tree.  
  
“It really is a tree, Andorra. I promise.” Finawen took her hand and gently drew her aside, away from the crush of bodies. “Winter Veil is coming soon, and the humans and the dwarves like to bring them inside at this time of year. Would you like to take a closer look? You can’t really see it from here, but they’re always beautifully decorated.”  
  
For a horrible moment she felt a flash of anger for her friend’s compassion, and fought to swallow the angry retort that formed in her mouth. Suddenly ashamed, she fidgeted with the clasp of her cloak, drawing it tighter around her as if it could make her seem a little smaller and a little less foreign. “Could we? I won’t… people won’t be mad?”  
  
“There’s always room for one more at Winter Veil, especially for our new draenei friends,” Finawan replied with a wink. “Even if the table might be a little low for you! Come on, let’s go see.”  


* * *

The crowds became thicker and more boisterous as they crossed the bridge taking them from the city gates to the wide, curving hallways of Ironforge’s outer ring. Finawen deftly steered them through the revelers, the lanky elf plowing through the crowd to clear a path for them as efficiently as if she were still in her bear shape. As they made their way closer to the glittering tree, Andorra caught sight of a handful of other draenei looking about as lost as she felt. She waved to them and felt a rush of relief as they shouted greetings to her in their native tongue; it had been a hard year for them all.  
  
They were close enough to the tree now that she could smell it. Andorra inhaled the sharp, resinous fragrance deeply as she admired the decorations adorning the branches.  
  
Finawen grinned as she watched her friend take in the sights and smells. “So, what do you think?”  
  
“Alright, I believe you-- it’s a tree!” Andorra laughed, her earlier shyness starting to thaw. “It… Fin, it’s  _ beautiful _ .”  
  
She took a step closer to the tree and reached out to gently touch one of the delicately-wrought ornaments. As it sparkled and caught the light, she realized with a start that it was crafted from a shard of crystal that glowed a familiar shade of purple. A glimmer of home, halfway around this new and unfamiliar world from where her people had made their unexpected entrance. Her vision blurred, and she hastily turned away from Finawen to wipe angrily at her eyes.  
  
As she worked to compose herself, Andorra felt a tug on the edge of her cloak. When she turned to find the source of the disruption, she found a dwarf dressed in red fur-trimmed robes holding a small, colorfully-wrapped package. He sported a long, grey beard magnificent enough to rival the Prophet’s.  
  
“A gift for you,” he said, holding the parcel out to her. “From Greatfather Winter.”  
  
Andorra glanced back at Finawen, who had busied herself with cleaning a nearby vendor out of his inventory of holiday baked goods. The night elf grinned around a mouthful of cookie and gestured at her to take what was being offered to her.  
  
“I… oh, um, thank you,” she stammered, stooped a little to take the package from the much shorter dwarf; he didn’t so much as smile as he  _ twinkled _ at her as he vanished back into the crowd.  
  
There was a tag attached to the ribbon wrapped around the box. In Finawen’s neat, looping handwriting, it read:  _ to a very special draenei paladin _ .  
  
“You… how... “  
  
“Don’t look at me! You heard the dwarf; it’s from Greatfather Winter,” Finawen said, utterly failing to feign innocence.  
  
Andorra glowered at the smug-looking druid. “You did not tell me there would be gift-giving! I haven’t gotten you anything!”  
  
“The look on your face when you saw the tree was present enough. Go on, open it before I eat all the cookies without you!”  
  
She carefully removed the shiny paper from the outside of the box and lifted the lid. Inside it, nestled in a swath of golden velvet, was a hearthstone.  
  
Andorra gasped. “Finawen, I… I can’t accept this. It must have cost a fortune!” Hearthstones were rare and precious artifacts, given only to adventurers of great renown.  
  
Finawen smiled. “A priestess owed me a favor, and when I told her who it was for she agreed to give me one without question. You made quite an impression on the locals when you came to Darnassus.”  
  
“It’s set to the Exodar,” she continued, suddenly serious, “but we can change it if you want. I just… we’ll be parting ways soon, and I wanted you to be able to find your way back home.”   
  
With trembling fingers, Andorra reached into the box to retrieve the hearthstone. The smooth, palm-sized stone gave off a soft blue light from the glyph carved into its surface, and when her fingers brushed the surface she thought she could hear the whisper of a Naaru’s chimes. Her vision blurred again as her eyes filled with tears and she threw her arms around Finawen’s neck, embracing her tightly.  
  
“Oh, Fin, thank you! Thank you so much!”  
  
The shorter elf hugged her back just as fiercely and murmured into her hair, “Happy Winter Veil, Andorra.”  
  
“Happy Winter Veil, Finawen.”


End file.
